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Sean Lee, 1992

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Born in Alexandria, Virginia, Sean Nicholas Lee is a contemporary figurative painter who's work is inspired by a variety of old masters.
His father was a senior executive of the Central Intelligence Agency.
When he was still an infant, Sean’s family moved to Yokohama, Japan.
One after the next, he then lived in Bangkok, Jakarta, Washington, D.C., and Kuala Lumpur.



As such, Sean’s youth was in a constant state of flux that instilled in him deep curiosity about human nature and an acute appreciation of its diverse expressions and manifestations.
Sean’s work is centered around primal humanity.
He is most interested in generating raw emotion with his materials.
Though his work is built upon the foundations of traditional academic painting (particularly the 17th century Dutch golden age) he propels the medium to take precedence over the illusory subject.
Within these parameters, it is through deep consideration of the various human elements and their careful abstraction that Sean engenders a rich sensory experience through his work.


- "Through disruption of contemporary ideological convictions, we might precipitate a profile of tomorrow - even if only a glimpse.
Though I paint within the parameters of what is tactile and tangible, I am less concerned with the illusory aspects of representation than I am with capacities for the various human elements loaded into the medium".

- "My traditional approach to representation is a lustful grasping for the ephemeral world of immeasurable striving - maybe one of our most profoundly human dimensions The face of a flat surface can be simultaneously probing and reflective, much like staring at one's self in a mirror.
It is in this space where my work germinates - where I command the medium itself to be primary over the subject.
This hierarchy overrides aspects of subconscious association to the subject, allowing only the elemental to remain".


- "I navigate the parameters of representing whilst simultaneously considering an archipelago of abstract concepts that must eventually be joined to form a single mass.
When the paint is allowed to speak its own voice, and the primordial nature of man is heeded with deep consideration, the work lives.
Like the scientists of my own era, who strive to generate AI with algorithmic imperatives containing exactly what it is that make us human, I am not trying to copy reality; I am trying to create it".

Sean Lee | After Us












Nato ad Alexandria, in Virginia, Sean Nicholas Lee è un pittore figurativo contemporaneo il cui lavoro si ispira ad una varietà di maestri antichi.
Suo padre era un alto dirigente della Central Intelligence Agency.
Quando era ancora bambino, la famiglia di Sean si trasferì a Yokohama, in Giappone.
Uno dopo l'altro, visse a Bangkok, Giakarta, Washington, DC e Kuala Lumpur.


In quanto tale, la giovinezza di Sean è stata in un costante stato di cambiamento che ha instillato in lui una profonda curiosità per la natura umana ed un acuto apprezzamento per le sue diverse espressioni e manifestazioni.
Il lavoro di Sean è incentrato sull'umanità primordiale.
È molto interessato a generare emozioni grezze con i suoi materiali.


Sebbene il suo lavoro sia costruito sulle basi della pittura accademica tradizionale (in particolare l'età dell'oro Olandese del XVII secolo), spinge il mezzo ad avere la precedenza sul soggetto illusorio.
All'interno di questi parametri, è attraverso la profonda considerazione dei vari elementi umani e la loro attenta astrazione che Sean genera attraverso il suo lavoro una ricca esperienza sensoriale.